Chapter 1
by Nell Arna
Summary: Beginning of my story, hopefully will have many chapters. May seem dull now but it gets better as you get further into the story!


Chapter 1 - The Results  
  
Harry awoke with a start. At first he wondered why he was asleep in the middle of the day. Then he realised the Dursleys had company. Groaning slightly, he climbed out of bed thinking of writing a letter to his friend Ron just to double check the time and date for when he would be leaving number 4, Privet Drive and hopefully not see it again for another year.  
Twenty minutes later, Harry put down his quill, sighing. He would give anything to be writing to his godfather and to be getting a reply. About absentmindedly, he flick his eyes to the small mirror leaning against the wall on his desk with a faint feeling that maybe this time, he would see Sirius' face grinning back at him. No such luck.  
Hedwig was out hunting again, Harry didn't mind, he preferred it by himself anyway. No one to talk to. No one talking to him. Just silence. Slowly and without much thought, he rolled up the piece of parchment and then realised that he hadn't finished the letter yet. He unrolled it and scrawled a short goodbye message and proceeded to roll the parchment up again.  
Luckily at that moment, Hedwig came back, but she had not been hunting. Now that Harry thought about, she hadn't been back for three days. He had been so caught up in his own thoughts about Hogwarts, Voldemort, the Ministry and for the most part Sirius to notice how time had passed. Tied to Hedwig leg was a letter from Hogwarts with Harry's new booklist. He quickly untied it wondering if Dumbledore had enclosed a short message to him, as he noticed that it was thicker than usual. Hedwig hooted softly and flew over to her cage.  
Harry unrolled the letter, eager for news about the magical world, and especially the changes that had been made now that the ministry of magic had acknowledged Voldemorts return.  
  
Dear Mr Potter,  
Enclosed is your book list for the upcoming year and the results of  
your OWLS, which I am sure you are eager to discover. Now that you are  
starting your sixth year at Hogwarts you have many new  
responsibilities that will be told to you upon your arrival on the  
Hogwarts Express. You must proceed to the front of the train to  
receive the new security measures formed due to circumstances that may  
affect School Life.  
  
Harry knew automatically that Voldemort was the circumstance and quickly read on to try and find out more about the new 'security measures'.  
  
Please note that the train will leave from platform 9¾ in Kings Cross  
Station at 11:00am. Do not be late.  
  
Yours sincerely,  
  
Professor M. McGonagall  
  
Harry, disappointed, took out the other pieces of parchment from the envelope. Not even bothering to look at his booklist, he drops it and sits down on his bed with the results in his hand. He can feel butterflies in his stomach and gulps with a feeling of foreboding. If he hasn't done well on these tests, he might never become an auror and that was the only career option Harry had considered. With one deep breath, he closed his eyes and unfolded the parchment.  
With a gasp Harry opens his eyes.  
"Well that was unexpected!" He says in surprise, his voice sounded croaky as he had had no need to use it for days.  
Instead of failing potions, Harry was shocked to see that he had received an 'Exceeds Expectations'! In his other subjects, he got a mixture of 'E's, 'A's and even (as he was proud to see) an 'Outstanding' for Defence Against the Dark Arts!  
With a warm happy feeling, Harry lay back and laughed out loud for the first time in weeks. He wanted to tell someone, anyone, Sirius! But no, he can't. Once more Harry's eyes flicked to the mirror on his desk but to no good. He let his eyes fall slightly spotting the letter he had written to Ron and once more unrolled it. Adding a postscript he said:  
  
PS: Just got my OWL results back. I did great, an 'E' in potions somehow! Well, it definitely exceeds MY expectations. I wonder if Snape knows yet. I hope he does, that would wipe the smirk off his face. Hope you did well; see you on the 24th.  
  
For the last time, Harry rolled up the letter and fixes it to Hedwig's leg. She gave him a disapproving look as she had just come back from a long journey but Harry ignored it and let her fly out through the open window. 


End file.
